Kamila Nelyubova broke a five-year drought of victories at the Russian Grand Prix

Return to the top: Kamila Nelyubova won the first stage of the Russian Grand Prix in Kazan.

In Kazan ended the first stage of the Grand Prix of Russia in figure skating, which took place from 17 to 18 October 2026. The main heroine of the competition was eighteen-year-old Kamila Nelyubova, who managed to bypass the main rivals and win gold. The tournament brought together the strongest athletes of the country, who demonstrated a high level of training and persistent struggle for each position in the final protocol.

By the sum of two programs, Kamila Nelyubova, who is the bronze medalist of the final of the Grand Prix of Russia in 2026, scored 217.75 points. She scored 70.89 points for a short program and 146.86 points for an arbitrary program. It is worth noting that after the short program, held on October 17, the athlete went only in second place, behind Anna Frolova. However, the next day, October 18, Nelyubova managed to turn the course of the competition and climb to the highest step of the podium.

For the skater herself, this gold medal became special. The athlete admitted that he can not fully believe in his success, as it is his first major victory in the last five years. Even at domestic all-Russian starts, she has not been able to rise to the first place for a long time, which makes the current triumph an extremely significant event in her career. The skater noted that she gained confidence in her own abilities at the previous championship of Russia in St. Petersburg, which was calm and productive for her.

Speaking about the technical side, Nelyubova said that in an arbitrary program she planned to perform an axel and a quadruple toe loop. However, at the competition, she lacked confidence in this difficult jump, and the ligament was not fully recoiled. The athlete stressed that this season she intends to include such content in her arsenal, but it will take more time for its stable implementation. According to her, the current hire can not be called the best in her career, as she performed with the same set of elements as last season, and in the future seeks more complex programs.

A pleasant bonus to the victory was the news of international prospects. Kamila Nelyubova said that she recently received a visa and now expects to participate in international tournaments in Europe.

The silver medal of the competition was won by Anna Frolova, who scored 208.32 points according to the results of two programs, of which 74.70 points fell on the short program and 133.62 points on the arbitrary one. It was Frolova who led after the first day of the competition, but in the final protocol lost more than nine points to the opponent.

The third place and bronze award was given to Ksenia Sinitsyn with a score of 199.83 points. She has 62.88 points for a short program and 136.95 points for an arbitrary program. For the athlete, who in the new season moved to the team of Evgeny Plushenko, this pedestal became a real holiday. Sinitsyna admitted that she had already forgotten the sensations of standing on the pedestal of honor, and expressed great satisfaction with her arbitrary rental, despite small bucks in the short program.

The transition to a new coaching staff was a turning point for the skater. Sinitsyna expressed gratitude to Svetlana Panova and the previous team for laying the foundation, but noted that there is always a moment in life when changes are needed. The appearance of Evgeny Plushenko in her sports biography was extremely timely. The athlete stressed that the new coach and his staff surrounded her with incredible energy, power and support, thanks to which she again felt needed and found inspiration for joint fruitful work.

Not at the tournament and without unexpected changes in the standings. Elizaveta Kulikova, who, according to the results of the short program, took the third line, eventually completed the competition in fourth place.

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Particularly noteworthy is the performance of Sophia Muravyova, silver medalist of the Russian championship of the season 2023/24. This season, the athlete decided to train completely independently, without the help of the coaching staff. This difficult experiment has not yet allowed her to fight for medals: according to the results of the first stage of the Grand Prix, Muravyeva is located in tenth place.

The first stage of the Russian Grand Prix series successfully ended in Kazan, giving fans a lot of vivid emotions and intriguing stories. The relay will be picked up by the second stage of the competition, which will be held in St. Petersburg from 24 to 25 October. The skaters will continue to fight for points and spots in the series finale, where each of them hopes to confirm their high class.